JAPANESE FILM FESTIVAL
Who says 13 has to be an unlucky number? Certainly not those from the land of the rising sun (who shy from four and nine instead), which is fortuitous as this year finds the 13th incarnation of the Japanese Film Festival tumbling onto Sydney shores. Last year’s success story was Departures (a coffinated comedy that was memorialised with an Oscar) and this time we have our hopes pinned on these … if not for golden statues, at least for golden stars.
THE CHEF OF THE SOUTH POLE
This has got to be the bizarrest premise for a film ever. Based on a true story by Jun Nishimura of Japan’s 38th Antarctic Exploration, it follows the daily minutiae – and menus – of seven men stuck at the remotest place on Earth: Dome Fuji Station. Maybe in Hollywood it would’ve been a horror film – the frozen toilet becoming a malevolent force converting the men into subhuman robot killers – but under the gentle eye of Japanese director Shuichi Okita it is a strangely touching tale. Okita says, “I thought it would be interesting if I could use film to show people how these men enjoyed themselves while living in such a harsh environment,” (by harsh, he means a mild -57C). The Chef, a limp-wristed geek-type, lovingly prepares the food each day for a motley crew of outcast characters. “In the making of the food, I see more the image of a mother. Like a mother with seven large children …”
ALL AROUND US
This has a full cupboard of festival award crowns to its name; 2008 Japan Academy Awards, Blue Ribbon Awards, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Film Festival to name a few. Billing itself as an, “honest rendering of a married couple’s struggle with depression,” it’s an interesting choice for one of the few openly gay directors in Japan, Ryosuke Hashiguchi. This is the tender heart of the festival, and has been touted as one of the best Japanese films of 2008.
DETROIT METAL CITY (by guest reviewer Hon Boey)
When I was a kid my dad worked in an ice cream shop in Coogee and so I used to hang out with all the Filipino kids whose parents owned the burger joints around there. They were heaps hardcore and listened to Bone Thugs, Biggie and all loved Steve Carfino (he played for the Sydney Kings in the late 80s/early 90s). Needless to say I tried to be heaps thug when really I was a complete dork. Whenever I see a film about people trying to be something they’re not, it really touches me. Detroit Metal City is about a twee popper who has to front a death metal band. I totally related. If you can relate to this type of stuff too then you should watch this. (HB)
Nov 24-Dec 1, Event Cinemas, George St, $12-14, japanesefilmfestival.net
